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His strength was in what he did- Dr. Elie Buconyori was a man who lived by principle.  His mission was for the youth of Burundi, and to that end, he will be remembered as the man who inspired young Burundians to harness their skills and gain a competitive edge in the global market.  He was a man who fought for the poor, and worked even harder to alleviate them from poverty; working to increase their access to such services as education and healthcare.

Thus it was with sadness that Dr. Buconyori passed away on Easter Sunday, March 31st, 2013.  His death came as a shock to many, and he is mourned by the entire nation.

In the Aftermath of the Burundian Civil war, Dr. Elie Buconyori moved back to Burundi and with him was a vision to build schools and clinics- no small feat in a post-conflict environment.  A couple of years later, he had not only built the hospitals and schools, but he had seen the nation of Burundi through a tough period of transition to peace.

In many ways than one, Dr. Buconyori was the father to many young Burundians- a mentor and their greatest advocate.  No one has affected so many lives in Burundi as he did.  He will be remembered as a man who turned a tragic history into a hopeful future. In the late 1990s, there were tens of thousands of Burundian refugees in Tanzania. With a vision to not only give them a place of belonging when they returned back home, he was on a mission to equip them with an education that engaged their minds to meet the realities of building a nation that had been ravaged by wars. He believed that “Africans, given the right opportunities, can compete on the world scene.”

Returning to Burundi, he founded Hope Africa University, a vision that the school would have an opportunity to serve a dense population of Africans who had been affected by the wars in Central Africa. Serving more than 4000 students, Hope Africa University is still the largest private education institution in Burundi. In recognizing his work, in 2011, Burundi’s President Pierre Nkurunziza awarded a Presidential Award to Dr. Buconyori recognizing his entrepreneurial achievements and his work with young people.  The same year, he became the first Burundian to be elected as chairman of the Interuniversity Council of East Africa.

As a nation-builder, he was a mentor to many, and a father-figure to many more. Dr. Buconyori will be remembered as man who lived by his conviction that to raise up a nation, one must take on the great task of empowering young minds and nurturing them.

After appearing on several episodes of The Real Housewives of Atlanta alongside Grammy Award winning multi-platinum singer/songwriter, Kandi Burruss, Selasi (producer & engineer) joins her team of experts on Bravo TV’s newest reality show, The Kandi Factory, which premieres April 9th @ 10pm. The show follows Kandi Burruss, and team as they transform 16 aspiring artists into seasoned entertainers.

On March 4, Google commemorated the birthday of famous African singer and civil rights activist - Miriam Makeba with a Google Doodle on its homepage. She would have turned 81 years old.

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Last Updated on Monday, 04 March 2013 21:01

Over the last couple of months the Applause Africa team embarked on a journey to recognize 40 individuals under 40 in the African community. Our team came together in order to whittle down an excitingly long list of influential young Africans to just forty. In the end, we came up with a list of individuals that we believe you will not only benefit from knowing, but will also be inspired to read about.

Born in Capetown in 1952, musician Tony Cedras continues to perform sporadically in his hometown Brooklyn. Originally singing and playing accordion in a local church choir, Cedras picked up the trumpet in high school and quickly became an integral session player in the local Capetown jazz scene. In the 80’s, like many South African musicians, Cedras emigrated to nearby Goberone, Botswana and continued work on his music. In Goberone, Cedras was a member of the Medu Art Ensemble which served as a cultural platform for many artists, largely other South African ex-patriots.